Sports journalism and LGBT issues: Defining events and evolving coverage

Abstract

This chapter examines sports journalism coverage of issues pertinent to LGBT athletes. To establish context, the enduring criticism of sports as “the toy department” of journalism for having lax standards and failing to engage in the traditional watchdog role of the press is discussed. From there the chapter focuses on research evaluating how sports journalists reported on the coming out stories of four prominent professional athletes: John Amaechi, Sheryl Swoopes, Jason Collins, and Michael Sam.